Richard Arnell - Smphonies Nos. 1 & 6; Sinfonia quasi Variazioni

Richard ARNELL (1917-2009)

Symphony No.1 (1943)

Symphony No.6 "The Anvil" (1994)

Sinfonia quasi Variazioni (1941)

Royal Scottish National Orchestra 

Martin Yates 

Release Date: 30th Jul 2007

Richard Arnell (1917-2009) composed six numbered symphonies along with other works which are really symphonies in all but name. A seventh symphony was completed by Martin Yates and, like the present programme, can be heard on the Dutton label. The works on this recording span Arnell's career.

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Review:

The Sinfonia quasi Variazioni (1941) is cast in five movements, with a presto and a vivace sandwiched between three andantes. There is a slightly American feel to this work in places which is perhaps hardly surprising as Arnell found himself stranded there when the Second World War broke out, and did not return to England until 1947. He was fortunate in having the Sinfonia taken up by Sir Thomas Beecham who championed his music more generally after the war.

The Symphony No.1 (1943) develops the style established in the early Sinfonia. The writing is along clean neo-classical lines, and the themes clearly presented, with each individual instrument or family of instruments distinctly audible. This audibility is no doubt assisted by the fact that Arnell opts for an orchestra of classical proportions. The heart of the symphony is the slow movement in which the strings take on a significant role, often airy in character, while woodwinds add the necessary embellishments. The short vivace third movement is really a prelude to the final presto in which, after some preliminaries, the horn announces the main theme. Despite the dark times in which it was written, the finale is both carefree and sprightly, somewhat reminiscent of Prokofiev's Classical Symphony at times.

The Symphony No.6, subtitled "The Anvil" on account of its strategically-placed anvil blows, was completed in 1994, some 50 years after the First Symphony, and is a good example of Arnell's late style. It is in four sections played without a break. Although the neo-classicism is gone, and there is more emphasis on orchestral colour, there are still some affinities with his earlier writing. The Symphony opens with a stark piano chord followed by the first anvil blow. As the music develops it becomes more impassioned and angry. The third section has an important concertante style passage for piano, and the music oscillates starkly between fortissimo and pianissimo passages. At the beginning of the final section the anvil blows heard at the outset return, and the music becomes more stately as earlier themes are reprised. The mercurial nature of this symphony may have listeners gasping, but its structure and argument are never in doubt, and are up to the composer's customary meticulous standards.

Martin Yates has earned himself a reputation as an authority on Arnell's music, so it is fitting that he should be the conductor here. The Royal Scottish National Orchestra aquits itself very well.